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Seated Lion
(18th and 19th Centuries )
Barye's life-size version of this sculpture was commissioned in 1847, based on a model from the 1830s. A companion piece to his "Lion Crushing a Serpent" of 1833, "Seated Lion" was placed in the Tuileries Garden in Paris in 1848. There is a life-size replica in Mount Vernon Place.
Noble and strong, the lion traditionally represented royalty in French art. Here as Leo, sign of the zodiac for July/August, it alludes to Louis Philippe who came to the throne following the July Revolution of 1830.
Barye produced reductions of "Seated Lion" with varying detail: this one has a sterner expression than the monumental prototype. Barye wanted to reach a broad, middle class audience. Casting in bronze permitted large editions of the same piece at affordable prices.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
William T. / Henry Walters Collection, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 1995 | The Allure of Bronze. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Geographies
France, Paris (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 14 in. (35.5 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by William T. or Henry Walters
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
27.448